When local newspapers fail, can hyperlocal websites deliver? This excerpt from
The New York Times:
The sites, like EveryBlock, Outside.in,Placeblogger and Patch, collect links to articles and blogs and often supplement them with data from local governments and other sources. They might let a visitor know about an arrest a block away, the sale of a home down the street and reviews of nearby restaurants.
admin Miscellaneous newspapers, social media
Erick Schonfeld has a post on
TechCrunch summarizing the kuffufle around newspapers, Google, and business models:
The newspaper industry is making a lot of noise these days about the Web “stealing” its content and destroying its business. Invariably, the newsmen point their ink-stained fingers at blogs, which arenothing more than “parasites”
, or at Google, which is supposedly aiding and abetting in the wholesale theft of the newspaper’s precious words. Rupert Murdoch, owner of the Wall Street Journaland other fine (and not-so-fine) publications, recently warnedthat the industry should no longer allow Google “to steal our copyrights.” And yesterday, the A.P. declared all out war against the Internet.
PaidContent.org has an interview with Dean Singleton, AP Chairman. According to Singleton:
I think our industry has been very timid about protecting our content, probably because we’ve done so well in the past few years that we didn’t recognize that misappropriation is as serious an issue as it is. As we’re now relooking at business models, it’s become clear that we must protect the rights of our content…
admin Miscellaneous intellectual property, newspapers
Clay Shirky, author of
Here Comes Everybody, provides good background on why newspapers are in trouble and what the future holds:
“You’re gonna miss us when we’re gone!” has never been much of a business model. So who covers all that news if some significant fraction of the currently employed newspaper people lose their jobs?
I don’t know. Nobody knows. We’re collectively living through 1500, when it’s easier to see what’s broken than what will replace it.
Full story with link to background column here.
admin Miscellaneous newspapers